House Squabbles Over Police Transparency In Body Camera Bill
North Carolina Republican lawmakers' proposed rules for viewing police footage from body cameras and dashboard cameras are receiving pushback from House Democrats who say the regulations encourage secrecy.
The House gave tentative approval to the measure Thursday despite objections that it places barriers to obtaining records that are aimed at police accountability.
The bill would allow law enforcement agencies to release dashboard and body-worn camera footage to the people who are recorded.
Agencies could withhold footage for several reasons, including if the footage could jeopardize a person's safety, could harm a person's reputation or is part of an active investigation. If the agency denies a request, the individual would have to bring a claim in court.
Senate Bill With Environmental Changes Clears Chamber
Several North Carolina environmental law changes have cleared the state Senate.
The omnibus bill written by Republicans and approved Thursday largely along party lines would raise the threshold before a developer must make environmental improvements when streams are destroyed or buried.
State regulators would be barred from instituting stormwater control measures to protect downstream water quality unless state or federal law requires them. It also would allow the federal government to pump standing stormwater caused by flooding on federal land into the ocean.
NC Governor, Challenger Expected To Clash Over LGBT Law
Gov. Pat McCrory and Attorney General Roy Cooper are meeting in a gubernatorial debate, their first public face-off since the governor signed a law limiting LGBT rights in the state.
Cooper and McCrory are participating in a forum Friday in Charlotte. Their campaign is expected to be among the most expensive nationwide and the best chance for a Democrat to flip a gubernatorial seat held by a Republican.
North Carolina Railroad Buys Land For Industrial Site
The North Carolina Railroad Co. is buying more land in a proposed industrial site south of Greensboro.
The News & Record of Greensboro reports the railroad will buy an additional 100 acres in the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite.
Railroad president Scott Saylor says the purchase is in cooperation with the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite Foundation.
Saylor says the additional land will help ensure that the site can meet the needs of large-scale industry.
New Census Shows NC Population Growth
The Tar Heel State grew by more than half a million people between 2010 and 2015. That's according to new U.S. Census data released Thursday.
North Carolina is now home to more than ten million people. That's up from about 9.5 million in 2010.
The state's gender balance is mostly the same: women still slightly outnumber men here.
And the largest age group in North Carolina includes those who are between 45 and 49 years old.
In the Triad, both Guilford and Forsyth Counties grew by about five percent each.
Bluegrass Music Patriarch Ralph Stanley Dies At 89
Appalachian music patriarch Ralph Stanley, who helped expand and popularize the bluegrass sound, has died. He was 89.
His publicist, Kirt Webster, says Stanley died Thursday.
Stanley was born and raised in southwest Virginia. He and brother Carter formed the Stanley Brothers and their Clinch Mountain Boys in 1946. Carter Stanley died of liver disease in 1966.
Ralph Stanley's a cappella dirge "O Death" from the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" movie soundtrack introduced him to a new generation of fans in 2000.
He became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2000 and won a Grammy for best male country vocal performance in 2002.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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